What happens when you take an obsessive anime fan and put him in the same room as someone who knows absolutely nothing about the medium? If you ask me, it sounds like a recipe for either a zanny sitcom or a brutal Saw-like horror film that culminates in the anime fan being brutally murdered and dissolved in a bathtub full of industrial strength chemicals.Or, maybe more likely, you get a poorly produced but mildly interesting (and perhaps occasionally even insightful) blog-a-thon/podcast featuring Brett Woolgar of 42 Review and myself, Tom Clift of Plus Trailers.
Bring our marathon length analysis of the films of Japans most prolific anime studio to a close, Brett and I watch and discuss three of the most recent Studio Ghibli films: 2002's The Cat Returns, 2004's Howls Moving Castle and 2006's Tales from Earthsea, before concluding with a brief look back at the marathon and how it has altered our (well, mostly my) perception of this rich storytelling medium.
For those of you who don't have time to listen to each of these reviews, I'd at least recommend listening to the Tales from Earthsea discussion, which I think is pretty entertaining (spoiler alert: we didn't like it.) I've also included a sentence or two beneath each video summarizing our overall thoughts on each film. If you missed out on the earlier entries in the marathon, you can find part 1 & 2 here. And as always, be sure to visit 42 Review and harass Brett into posting more regularly.
The Cat Returns
Tom's thoughts: It's a weird one, and pretty dumb - the concept is just so random. Not a very satisfying follow-up to Spirited Away.
Brett's thoughts: I love this film, it's very fun to watch. I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoyed Porco Rosso or Totoro.
Howl's Moving Castle
Tom's thoughts: My favourite Ghibli film. The visuals and animation are great, it has a story that will appeal to all ages and best of all, the characters are really interested and well developed.
Brett's thoughts: Stunning scenic shots, although background animation not as strong. Really good story with a positive message, and a good film that can get you into anime.
Tales from Earthsea
Tom's thoughts: I didn't like this movie at all. The dialogue is woeful cliched and totally meaningless. The story reached for epic levels and failed in almost every respect - I just didn't care what happened.
Brett's thoughts: A story that doesn't really go anywhere, pacing really off. One big positive was the music.
Final thoughts
I hope you've enjoyed our Anime discussions thus far, because they aren't going anywhere! We may have finished with Studio Ghibli for the time being, but there's a whole wide world of anime out there that Brett won't stop raving about. In the coming weeks and months we'll be talking about various anime television series', some good, some bad and after that, who knows? If you've got any suggestions for what we should be checking out, please leave us a comment. Likewise, if you agree or disagree with anything we've said here, feel free to let us know.
For those of you who don't have time to listen to each of these reviews, I'd at least recommend listening to the Tales from Earthsea discussion, which I think is pretty entertaining (spoiler alert: we didn't like it.) I've also included a sentence or two beneath each video summarizing our overall thoughts on each film. If you missed out on the earlier entries in the marathon, you can find part 1 & 2 here. And as always, be sure to visit 42 Review and harass Brett into posting more regularly.
The Cat Returns
Tom's thoughts: It's a weird one, and pretty dumb - the concept is just so random. Not a very satisfying follow-up to Spirited Away.
Brett's thoughts: I love this film, it's very fun to watch. I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoyed Porco Rosso or Totoro.
Howl's Moving Castle
Tom's thoughts: My favourite Ghibli film. The visuals and animation are great, it has a story that will appeal to all ages and best of all, the characters are really interested and well developed.
Brett's thoughts: Stunning scenic shots, although background animation not as strong. Really good story with a positive message, and a good film that can get you into anime.
Tales from Earthsea
Tom's thoughts: I didn't like this movie at all. The dialogue is woeful cliched and totally meaningless. The story reached for epic levels and failed in almost every respect - I just didn't care what happened.
Brett's thoughts: A story that doesn't really go anywhere, pacing really off. One big positive was the music.
Final thoughts
I hope you've enjoyed our Anime discussions thus far, because they aren't going anywhere! We may have finished with Studio Ghibli for the time being, but there's a whole wide world of anime out there that Brett won't stop raving about. In the coming weeks and months we'll be talking about various anime television series', some good, some bad and after that, who knows? If you've got any suggestions for what we should be checking out, please leave us a comment. Likewise, if you agree or disagree with anything we've said here, feel free to let us know.
